The Paw Print

By: Kieran Blake

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” – United States Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776

The Founding Fathers believed that the government should derive its power from the people. They believed that all property-owning white men had the right to elect their president. In 1828, all white men were allowed to vote in the presidential election. In 1870, it became almost all men (Native Americans and certain immigrants excluded). In 1913, Americans gained the right to direct election of Senators. In 1920, women got the right to vote, and in 1924, so did Native Americans. In 1965, the government started enforcing the right of all people to vote, and finally, aside from the two exceptions in 2000 and 2016, America had a true democracy. The people finally had the most power in deciding the future of the presidency.

Well at Walter Payton College Prep, May 1, 2024 was the day democracy died. On May 1, 2024, Aria Shah was elected student body president. Jade Park won 60% of the popular vote, and she lost the election. How? Because 28 people got as many votes as almost 600. The 28 members of student government have as much influence over the election as the 944 members of the student body. The student body could vote in favor of a candidate 943-1, and that one could still come out victorious if the 28 members of student government voted against those 943. The opinions of 28 people are more important than the opinions of another 944.

In the halls of 1034 N Wells Street, democracy is hypocrisy. The leaders who are supposed to represent the interests of the student body end up overpowering the student body altogether. In 1689, John Locke, perhaps the man most responsible for establishing the country we live in today, theorized that the government should exist only to serve the people. Over three centuries later, America’s first black president, Barack Obama, stated that “true progress is only possible where governments exist to serve their people, and not the other way around.” For over 300 years, dating all the way back to when America was a British colony, America has been a nation rooted in democracy. Why should Payton be any different?

To be clear, this is not an article condemning any of the candidates involved. Had Aria Shah won the popular vote, or even lost by a smaller margin, this article would not exist. This is not a condemnation of an individual. This is a critique of a broken system. A system in which the elected leaders hold significantly more power than those who elected them. A system in which 120 voters don’t matter. A system that has destroyed the very ideals of democracy that this nation embodies and that this school claims to have.

Now, there is an argument to be made that giving the student government vote a greater weight prevents the election from becoming a popularity contest, and that is a valid argument. But fifty percent! That is simply obscene! There need to be guardrails, yes, but what exists right now is a wall. No one surveyed believed that the student government vote should hold any weight above thirty percent. In the words of sophomore Fernando Aburto, “A position on the student government should not make their voice 20 times more important than the average student.”

“A position on the student government should not make their voice 20 times more important than the average student.”

Fernando Aburto

This election was not just an election, it was a battle for the future of democracy. It was power vs. people and power won. If the people in power decide whether or not they keep their power, why should anyone bother trying to replace them? One freshman put it best. “It’s an electoral college except that the people in it are already in power.”

The criticism is not just coming from those who voted for Jade Park either. One sophomore “supported Aria’s campaign but wasn’t happy with the popular vote not winning.” He recommended the establishment of “open and transparent” primaries “to prevent public corruption.” Students are not angry that their candidate lost, they are angry that the student voice lost.

Another student pointed out that the system that Payton’s seems to be modeled off of, the electoral college, served a purpose that is not needed at Payton. She pointed out that “the whole reason for the electoral college was that the population wasn’t educated enough to vote, but we’re literally the top high school in the state.” If the electoral college was in place to secure an educated vote, then why would it be necessary at Payton?

The student government here at Payton is not the government of, by, and for the people that Abraham Lincoln sought to preserve in his Gettysburg Address. Rather, the student body is a people of, by, and for the government. As one sophomore said, “Payton should be an example for the government we want to have.” Well, this government is no government that I want to have, and I think that many of my peers would agree.